ABSTRACT
Pakistan came into existence as the fulfillment of a dream to create a Muslim homeland in South Asia. Consequently, Pakistan's dominant political values and beliefs have revolved around alternative interpretations of the meaning of "Muslim nationalism," which advocates understand as the ideal for pursuing a stable democratic polity that represents the people who reside within Pakistan's territorial confines. Since the separation of Bangladesh in 1971, truncated Pakistan has contained five major politically significant ethnic groups or nations: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pakhtuns, muhajirs and the Baloch. Islam is both a religious doctrine and a code of social and political organization. Islamists may favor severing ties with Western society and culture. Numerous groups in Pakistan have voiced opposition to the Islamization process, including women's organizations and the Pakistan People's Party. Islamists argued that the bill was too weak; nationalists, that it usurped Pakistan's democratic constitutional structure. Pakistan possesses one of the most varied geographical settings in the world.
